As a child, I had the neatest handwriting. I used to constantly receive compliments from my teachers, friends and family on my penmanship. My notes were always perfectly written, but if I had to jot something down quickly, I would do so and re-write it later so it was perfect. I have, as of late, noticed a severe decline in my handwriting. What was once one of my strongest points is now one of my weakest – and I know exactly why – it started the day I put down my pencil and picked up my keyboard.

Since I began to write full time, the ratio of things I wrote versus things I typed began to sway dramatically. When I began to write articles, I used to look at a yellow ruled pad and perfectly sharpened pencil for inspiration. The blank page and perfect point would give me the desire to fill the page and ware the point with the words in my head. But after I wrote the article on paper – I had to type it into the computer to provide my editor with a copy both on paper and on disk. So I began to see the behavior of writing an article only to type it into the computer as redundant, and began to abandon the act of writing the column on paper and went directly to typing it in to the computer.

Over time, I would completely eliminate writing any of my articles on paper and began to look to a keyboard and “piece of paper” on the computer screen for inspiration rather than my old yellow pad and pencil. While this was making my article writing more efficient – little did I realize that I was no longer writing anything down – so my handwriting skills were not being utilized as much as they used to. So the perfect handwriting I once had was being slowly reduced to bad scribble that sometimes I can’t even read.

And since I got this laptop about nine months ago, the amount of handwriting I now do is really minimal. Aside from a few notes here and there, I type everything because I carry my laptop everywhere. No matter if it is a thought I have, a column I am writing, or a letter I have to write, I would rather open my laptop and type it in then grab a pad and pen.

So I guess being someone who lived through the transition from the yellow pad to the keypad, I guess I have successfully evolved with the times – but if I type everything in – how can I call myself a writer?